Posted By RVBusiness On December 6, 2012 @ 10:01 am In Breaking News | No Comments

A Giant Recreation World dealership that would showcase as many as 200 display models wants to park itself on a high-visibility location of in Palm Bay, Fla., near Interstate 95. But, according to a report by Florida Today, the company first must maneuver around neighbors’ concerns about the proposed layout of the dealership.

According to documents submitted to Palm Bay, Giant Recreation World, which has three locations in Florida including one in Palm Shores, is considering opening a dealership on a 24-acre parcel on Culver Drive that also has visibility from I-95.

The project includes a 32,000-square-foot sales and service building as well as an outdoor RV display area and storm water system on about 19 acres of the parcel. The remaining 5 acres could be developed in the future as lease space, but would also require a future review by city council.

To be built, the project needs a conditional-use permit, which Palm Bay City Council will consider granting. City leaders will also consider a request for a variance from the city’s rules on replacing trees larger than 18 inches in diameter.

The permit and variance requests came from the property owner REDUS Florida Land LLC, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, which acquired the property last year in a foreclosure sale. Giant Recreation World, however, has a contract to purchase the land, according to the application.

Giant Recreation World would employ just under 40 full-time workers and about a dozen more part-time staff, according to applications.

While welcoming the jobs and economic benefit the dealership will bring to the city, some neighbors expressed concerns about the proposal as it is.

John Studer, a past president of Lockmar Homeowners Association, said the association has received some “strongly worded” responses from residents in his neighborhood, which is located south of the project.

Studer said he personally agrees that the RV dealership would be a fit for that property under Palm Bay’s zoning code, but would be happier to have it in the neighborhood if the plans showed more buffering to better blend in with the nearby homes, more trees preserved and better drainage.